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NSA + VMware = Crackproof Computing?

Posted by timothy on from the heh-heh-heh dept.

n8willis writes: "ZDnet is reporting on a VMware and NSA collaboration called "NetTop." The idea to run multiple virtual computers on one box, to eliminate the need for government workers to have separate PCs--and indeed separate networks--for classified and unclassified data. The challenge is making the virtual barriers as secure as the physically separate networks. NSA and VMware say they've done it. What do you think?" Will copying between virtual machines be impossible? I wonder when (or if) NSA changes will make their way into the various distributions' boxed releases.

3 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. Here's one problem.. by dmuth · · Score: 5
    At home, I run Enlightenment, and often have multiple terminal windows open at once. I've already made stupid mistakes like trying to type my GPG passphrase or root password into the wrong window. My concern is that the NSA trying to do something similar could lead to similar problems. Given that governement employees aren't exactly know for being the sharpest pencils in the box, I could easily see someone going to the trouble of doing an hour or more of work, only to discover that they were typing it all in the wrong window on an unsecure network. Whoops!

    As I understand it now, the present system where multiple machines are used in government institutions has a black machine that contains secret data, and a white machine that contains only sensitive data. Much harder to type something into the wrong machine when the color of it is immediately apparent to you, I would think.

    --

  2. Someone call Hillary and Jack! by Tackhead · · Score: 5
    > Will copying between virtual machines be impossible?

    I dunno, but if it is, someone'd better call RIAA and MPAA to let Ms. Rosen and Mr. Valenti know about it :)

  3. Maybe I am confused but... by Dios · · Score: 5
    So I guess the goal would be to hack into the 'host' system. That way you can copy the virtual machines data file (isn't it just one big nice file in vmware?) and have a complete copy of the virtual system... and all its data...

    Is this like a single point of failure thing?